2019 Chateau Cissac Haut Medoc Cru Bourgeois Superieur 750 ml

The main reason Château Cissac enjoys widespread reverence is simple: It’s one of the all-time best values in Bordeaux.

This 225-year-old property, operated by the Vialard family through five generations, sits at the nexus of two of the most prestigious appellations in the Médoc: Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac. Just a few kilometers west of Grand Cru Classé royalty like Pontet-Canet, Lafite, and Cos d’Estournel, it shares terroir with the most pedigreed houses in the appellation.

The 2019 vintage put a spotlight on the defining traits of the Cissac style: Here is the unmistakable Left Bank cut and brick-house structure that grows out of Pauillac’s sandy, gravelly soils, which rest on a bed of limestone. The nose is equally impressive, with perfectly realized notes of black currant, bay leaf, leather, and cedar spice.

The ‘19 Cissac’s quality led Wine Enthusiast to shower it with 94-point praise, calling it “a refined wine, elegantly structured and already showing a fine equilibrium between fruit and tannins,” and possessing “great promise and long-term aging.” 

Château Cissac has typically been thought of as traditional with a capital T. Older vintages were as straight-backed and formidable as they come in Bordeaux, typically requiring a minimum of five years of cellaring to open up. Today, under Louis’s daughter, Marie, and winemaker Laurent Saint Pasteur, the wines show far more suppleness and harmony while still reflecting the proud tradition of old-school claret.

This Médoc classic will impress you as much in 10 years as it does today. Join the legion of Bordeaux buyers who make sure to always keep it in their cellars.